Longtime New Haven Register sports columnist Dave Solomon died Saturday evening around 7 p.m. in a one-car accident on I-91 in Connecticut. Solomon was returning from covering a UConn football practice when his car skidded off the road and hit a tree near Cromwell. Police are investigating the cause of the accident. Colleagues of Solomon, 59, recalled a long and distinguished career as a prominent voice in Connecticut sports.
“He was a true professional, but he’s like the best friend you have, too,” said Register sports editor Sean Barker said. “He was my confidant. I talked to him every single day, about stories, about the paper, everything. We had a couple of battles, but it was like family. He never let it last long.”
Solomon’s ability to move on has found immortality on YouTube. After Providence College’s Ryan Gomes, from Waterbury, lit up UConn in January 2004, Solomon asked Jim Calhoun, “Recruiting is hardly an exact science, but what does Gomes do that blows you away now that maybe no one saw?”
AdvertisementSolomon never said how did you miss on Gomes and never meant anything like that. He was talking about Gomes’ improvement. After he famously carpet f-bombed the XL Center, Calhoun came to this realization. He called and apologized to Solomon the next day. Solomon’s reaction? Calhoun didn’t need to apologize.
Jeff Jacobs of the Hartford Courant wrote,
“As a columnist, he stood his ground without histrionics. I admit there were a few times when I felt, wow, if I wrote black, Solomon would write white. And if I wrote white, he would write black. When I told him this once, he said, “I wasn’t aware you were wrong that many times.”
And then he smiled.
Barker said condolences from sportswriters poured in from around the country.
Tweets and messages came from across the sports world Sunday. Some of the most prominent names in sports journalism offered their condolences: Jack Curry, Andy Katz, Dick Vitale, Peter King, Les Carpenter, Adrian Wojnarowski, Seth Davis and many others.
They are household names to sports fans.
They all knew Dave. They all respected him. And they all liked him. A lot.